This study employs recent data from the 1988 Ghana Demographic and Health Survey to assess earlier speculation of fertility change in Ghana. The findings are cautiously optimistic. Although there is little evidence to support any hypothesis of a fertility turnaround in Ghana, there is some indication that continued increases in the proportion of women with some secondary education may yet induce a fertility transition in Ghana.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AndertonDouglas L.1986. “Urbanization, Secularization, and Birth Spacing: A Case Study of an Historical Fertility Transition.”The Sociological Quarterly27: 43–62.
2.
BleekWolf1987. “Family and Family Planning in Southern Ghana.” Pp. 138–153 in Sex Roles, Population and Development in West Africa: Policy-related Studies on Work and Demographic Issues, edited by OppongChristineLondon: James Curry.
3.
BongaartsJohn1991. “The KAP-Gap and the Unmet Need for Contraception.” Working Paper No. 23, The Population Council Research Division, New York.
4.
BumpassL. L.RindfussR. R.JanosikR. B.1978. “Age and Marital Status at First Birth and the Pace of Subsequent Fertility.”Demography15: 75–86.
5.
CaldwellJohn C.1980. “Mass Education as a Determinant of the Timing of Fertility Decline.”Population and Development Review6: 225–256.
6.
CaldwellJohn C.1982. Theory of Fertility Decline. New York: Academic Press.
7.
CaldwellJohn C.CaldwellPat1987. “The Cultural Context of High Fertility in Sub-Saharan Africa.”Population and Development Review13: 409–437.
8.
DaVanzoJulieHaagaJohn1982. “Anatomy of a Fertility Decline: Ethnic Differences in the Experience of Malaysian Women, 1950–1976.”Population Studies36: 373–393.
9.
DegraffDeborah S.1991. “Increasing Contraceptive Use in Bangladesh: The Role of Demand and Supply Factors.”Demography28: 65–81.
10.
DodooF. Nii-Amoo1992. “Female Education, Age, Parity, and Reproductive Cessation in Ghana.”Social Biology39: 102–108.
11.
DodooF. Nii-AmooSealArna Forthcoming. “Explaining Spousal Differences in Reproductive Preferences: A Gender Inequality Approach.”Population, Environment.
12.
DysonTimMooreMick1983. “On Kinship Structure, Female Autonomy and Demographic Behavior in India.”Population and Development Review9: 35–60.
13.
FrankOdileMcNicollGeoffrey1987. “An Interpretation of Fertility and Population Policy in Kenya.”Population and Development Review10: 209–243.
14.
FreedmanRonald1979. “Theories of Fertility Decline: A Reappraisal.”Social Forces58: 1–17.
15.
FriedlanderDovEisenbachZviGoldscheiderCalvin1980. “Family Size Limitation and Birth Spacing: The Fertility Transition of African and Asian Immigrants in Israel.”Population and Development Review6: 581–593.
16.
Ghana Statistical Service (GSS), Institute for Resource Development/Macro Systems (IRD), Inc. 1989. Ghana Demographic and Health Survey, 1988. Columbia, MD: Ghana Statistical Service and Institute for Resource Development/Macro Systems, Inc..
17.
KhalifaMona A.1989. “Determinants of Birth Intervals in Sudan.”Journal of Biosocial Science21: 301–320.
18.
KnodelJohn1970. “Two and a Half Centuries of Demographic History in a Bavarian Village.”Population Studies24: 353–376.
19.
KnodelJohn1977. “Breastfeeding and Population Growth.”Science198: 1111–1115.
20.
KnodelJohn1979. “Age Patterns of Fertility and the Fertility Transition: Evidence from Europe and Asia.”Population Studies30: 219–249.
21.
KritzMaryGurakDouglasFapohundaBolaji1992. “Sociocultural and Economic Determinants of Women's Status and Fertility.” Paper presented at the Annual Meetings of the Population Association of America, Denver, Colorado.
22.
LesthaegheR.VanderhoeftC.GaisieS.DelaineG.1989. “Regional Variation in Components of Child Spacing: The Role of Women's Education.” Pp. 122–166 in Reproduction and Social Organization in Sub-Saharan Africa, edited by LesthaegheRon J.Berkeley: University of California Press.
23.
NjoguWamucii1991. “Trends and Determinants of Contraceptive Use in Kenya.”Demography28: 83–99.
24.
Oheneba-SakyiYaw1989. “Cohort Shifts in the Timing of Births in Ghana.”Sociological Perspectives32(4): 485–500.
25.
RajultonF.BalakrishnanT. R.ChenJ.1990. “Changes in Timing of Fertility—A Canadian Experience.”Journal of Biosocial Science22: 33–42.
26.
RaoK. V.BalakrishnanT. R.1989. “Timing of First Birth and Second Birth Spacing in Canada.”Journal of Biosocial Science21: 293–300.
27.
RindfussR.BumpassL.PalmoreJ.HanD. W.1982. “The Transformation of Korean Child-Spacing Practices.”Population Studies36: 87–104.
28.
RobertsonClaire1984. Sharing the Same Bowl: A Socioeconomic History of Women and Class in Accra, Ghana. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
29.
RodriguezG.HobcraftJ.1980. “Illustrative Analysis: Life Table Analysis of Birth Intervals in Colombia.” World Fertility Survey Scientific Report No. 16, World Fertility Survey, London.
30.
RyderNorman1980. “Components of Temporal Variations in American Fertility.” Pp. 15–54 in Demographic Patterns in Developed Societies, edited by HiornR. W.London: Taylor and Francis Ltd..
31.
SatharZeba1988. “Birth Spacing in Pakistan.”Journal of Biosocial Science20: 175–194.
32.
SinghS.ShahI. H.1985. “Levels, Trends, and Differentials in Fertility.” Pp. 49–93 in Demographic Patterns in Ghana: Evidence from the Ghana Fertility Survey 1979/1980, edited by SinghS.OwusuJ. Y.ShahI. H.Voorburg, Netherlands: International Statistical Institute.
33.
SmithPeter C.1980. “Asian Marriage Patterns in Transition.”Journal of Family History5: 58–96.
34.
TeachmanJay D.HeckertD. A.1985. “The Declining Significance of First-Birth Timing.”Demography22: 185–198.
35.
TolnayS. E.GuestA. M.1984. “American Family Building Strategies in 1900: Stopping or Spacing.”Demography21: 9–18.
36.
TufuoJ. W.DonkorC. E.1989. Ashantis of Ghana: People with a Soul. Accra, Ghana: Anowuo Educational Publications.
37.
Van de WalleEtienneKekovoleJohn1986. “Demographic Trends in Sub-Saharan Africa.” African Demography Working Papers No. 14, Population Studies Center, University of Pennsylvania.
38.
Van de WalleEtienneKnodelJohn1980. “Europe's Fertility Transition: New Evidence and Lessons for Today's Developing World.”Population Bulletin34: 1–43.
39.
WarrenDennis M. [1973] 1986. The Akan of Ghana. Accra, Ghana: Pointer Limited.
40.
WinebergHoward1987. “Recent Trends in the Timing of The Second and Third Births Among Black American Women.”Sociology and Social Research71: 298–307.
41.
WinebergHoward1988. “The Timing of the Second Birth.”Sociology and Social Research72: 96–101.
42.
BankWorld1988. Education in Sub-Saharan Africa: Policies for Adjustment, Revitalization, and Expansion. Washington, DC: World Bank.